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Friday, January 27, 2012

Top Story

SC House seeks to revoke Georgia’s dredging permit

The South Carolina House voted unanimously to temporarily suspend the authority of the state’s environmental agency on dredging decisions, as lawmakers try to find a way to rescind the dredging permit the agency awarded to Georgia to expand its Savannah port.

South Carolina and Georgia share the Savannah River, and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has responsibility for dredging decisions in the state.

The S.C. Savannah River Maritime Commission, created by the legislature in 2007, was created to represent S.C. on navigability issues with regards to the river shared with Georgia.

The problem occurred when the DHEC handed over a permit in November allowing Georgia to dredge the Savannah River - two months after the SRMC denied it for unacceptable harm to the environment. The DHEC did not consult the commission before awarding the permit. The environmental agency was evidently asked by Governor Nikki Haley to hear an appeal from Georgia on the decision, but before the appeal could be heard, DHEC staff reached an agreement with Georgia and the Army Corps of Engineers to allow the dredging, which was then approved by the governor-appointed board.

The governor and the DHEC are under fire for the decision. Legislators convened hearings, outraged that South Carolina gave Georgia the competitive advantage over Charleston's port, with potentially dire consequences to the S.C. economy.

The deal would effectively undermine efforts to create a port in Jasper County, 14 miles closer than Savannah to the Atlantic Ocean, since as a result of the agreement, S.C. won't have access to land slated for the Jasper port for decades.

The SRMC filed an appeal with the Southern Environmental Law Center, arguing the permit was improperly granted, and cited danger to the environment, including destroying the habitat of endangered fish and acres of freshwater marsh.

- CBS News Read the complete story: www.cbsnews.com